Fatal firearm accidents in Sweden
| Autor: | Anders Eriksson, Lolomai Örnehult |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1987 |
| Předmět: |
Male
Sweden Firearms History Human factors and ergonomics Poison control Legislation medicine.disease Suicide prevention Occupational safety and health Pathology and Forensic Medicine Close range Cross-Sectional Studies Accidental Injury prevention medicine Humans Female Wounds Gunshot Medical emergency Law |
| Zdroj: | Forensic science international. 34(4) |
| ISSN: | 0379-0738 |
| Popis: | According to Swedish law, it is prohibited to possess and use firearms without a special permission (license), which is given only after a detailed personal investigation. This restrictive legislation accounts for the fact that deaths due to firearms in Sweden are rare in an international comparison. The number of accidental firearm fatalities in Sweden is 0.074/100,000 living persons. We have previously published a series of accidental firearm fatalities during hunting, and now we present an investigation on the non-hunting fatalities. The mean age of the victims was 27 years, and males predominated. Handguns, military rifles, and shotguns caused most of the accidents. The first published case of fatal thoracic airgun wound is also included. Slightly more than half of the accidents were caused by another person and were inflicted at close range. Unsafe handling of the guns, especially "playing" with the gun or during military training caused most of the accidents. It is doubtful that one could further decrease the low number of fatal firearm accidents in Sweden by even more restrictive legislation. Instead, it is concluded that the most important factor to stress is the safer handling of weapons. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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